Earphones for use with dictating machines and the like



Feb. 5, 1957 H. B. SHAPER 2,786,681

EARPHONES FOR USE WITH DICTATING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed July 1, 1-954 5 35 l 2/ INVENTOR.

J 53 15 40 4 35 573042 5 /7,4,/V 5. LEW/4pm Tia. 3 O Q OQ hired States Fatent t L'Ziiilfidl Feb. 5, 1957 EARN-ZONES FOR USE WITH DICTATING MACHINES AND THE Harry E. Shapes, Iew Hyde Park, N. 1., to Dyna-Labs, Inc, Garden City, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 1, 1954, Serial No. 4%,6tv8

6 Claims. (Cl. 179-456) The present invention relates to earphones and particularly to earphones having separate ear engaging mernhers connected to a common sound source such as are commonly used in the transcription of dictating machine records.

More particularly still the invention relates to earphones of the type mentioned so arranged that the earpieces may be readily adjusted as respects the spacing therebetween and will remain in their adjusted position without in any way affecting the volume of sound transmitted to the ears.

it is an object of the invention to provide a set of earphones having a common small speaker element mounted at the junction of a pair of tubes leading to the individual ears of a user, the tubes being provided with ear pieces at their terminal ends.

it is another object of the invention to provide such earphones which are pivotally mounted at their juncture and thus adjustable to accommodate for different distances between the ears of individual users.

It is another object of the invention to provide a frictional engagement of the relatively rotatable elements so that the ealpieces may be readily adjusted to and re tained in their adjusted position.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such earphones in which the sound from the common speaker element is equally distributed to the two car tube to the ears of the user.

Other objects and features of the invention will be a parent when the following description is considered in connection with the annexed drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the earphones of my invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the device of Figure 1, one branch being broken away;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional View of the device of Figure 2, the section being taken on the plane of the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the device of the preceding figures, the section being taken on the plane of the line 's- 2- of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a second horizontal cross-sectional View, this view being taken on the plane of. the line S5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional View taken on the plane of the line 6-4? of Figure 3, illustrating the mode in which the tubes are held in position in the pivota ly mounted tube receptacles.

Referring now to the drawings, the earphone set of the present invention comprises a small sound reproducing element It) on which are pivotally mounted two members 12 and 13 each of which has a tube 14 or fixed thereto, these tubes terminating in earpieces E6 and 17 adapted to be placed in the outer ears of a user.

The members 12 and 13 are rotatable with respect to each other through a substantial are thus permitting insertion of the earpieces 16 and 17 in the ears and retention therein during use. Moreover, by virtue of this adinstability the instrument is adapted for use by persons having varying inter-ear distances.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, the element 12 comprises a generally cylindrical body portion 18 having a generally cylindrical member 2% extending at right angles thereto at one si e thereof, the extension 21) being formed with b re therein. Also, there is formed in the body ally extending passageway 22 which is intercepted by a passageway 23 which slopes downwardly and communicates with the bore 21.

Body portion 18 is also provided with a rim 24 which cooperates with a clamping ring 25' to hold a reproduc ing unit 26 in position as shown, this unit being connected by the usual cable to a source of electrical sound signals such for example as a record player and being provided with the usual diaphragm for converting the electrical signals LO sound waves.

Extending through the body portion 18 of the member 12 in vertical direction as seen in Figure 3 are two bores 27 through which sound reproduced in the unit 26 is transited through the unit 12 and into a groove shortly to be described.

Member is comprised of a enerally cylindrical body portion ring a cylindrical extension 31 at its left as seen in Figure 3. Extension 3?. is provided with a bore into which a tube may be inserted, this tube terminating in t iece J. A blind bore 32 extends downwardly from the upper surfac of the body portion 30 and joins a horizontal bore which terminates at its left end within the outlines of the bore 31 thus providing a passageway for sound from the reproducer 26 through the openings 27 and out to the earpiece 1'7.

[is is clearly shown in Figure 6, the bores 21 and 32 of the tube extensions and are provided with splines it? thus assuring a tight fit of the tubes in the bores and preventing undesired rotation of the tubes while permitting desired rotational adjustment.

The body portion of member L, and the body portion 3 b of member 13 are provided with aligned bores and respectively, the bore 34 in member 12 being threaded. Thus a shouldered screw 36 inserted through the hole and threaded into the threaded pening 34 holds the portions and 13 together while permitting them to rotate relatively to each other.

Formed in the body portion 36" of member 13 are two grooves 3'7 and 33, the inner one of these grooves having its outer edge in substantial alignment with the inner edge of the bores 22, 27 and and the outer one of the grooves having its inner edge in substantial alignment with the outer edges of the bores 22, 2! and 32. Mounted in the circular grooves 37 and 3% are washers 4G and 41 respectively preferably of neoprene, which washers extend above the upper horizontal surface of the member l3 providing confined circular channel which communisates with the bores 27, 22 and Thus sound waves produced by the unit pass through the bores 27 into e annular s ace between the washers it) and 41 and the opposed surfaces of the body portions 13 and 36 of e members and i3 respectively. From this space in Figures 3, the sound waves pass through ores 22 and 23 to the ear tube and thence to the arpiece 16 and in similar manner through passages 32 and and the ear tube 1 5- to the earpiece l6.

neoprene washers 4t and are of such a thickness and so related to the shouldered screw 3d that they exert a frictional resistance to tr e rotational movement of the portions 13 and id relative to each other. Thus these washers, in addition to forming an annular sound channel also provide means for retaining the earpieces 16 and I at a fixed distance relative to each other. This assures that the device may be readily and comfortably adjustcd to a particular wearer and that once adjusted it 3 will retain its adjusted position. It further assures that irrespective of the adjustment made the sound originating in the reproducer 26 will be equally distributed to the earpieces 16 and 17 and to the ears of a wearer.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that I wish to be limited not by the foregoing description, but solely by the claims granted to me,

What is claimed is:

1. An earphone device of the type in which sound from a single sound source is conveyed through separate tubes to the ears of a user, comprising, in combination, a pair of sound conveying tubes extending at an angle to each other in a substantially common plane, a body member fixed to each said tube, the axes of said members extending at right angles to the axis of the associated tubes, means pivotally mounting said members for rotational movement relative to each other about their common axis, said ear tubes extending outwardly from opposite sides of said members, an annular sound channel between said members, said channel being formed by concentric washers extending between the adjacent faces of said members, and sound passages extending through said members and joining said tubes with said annular channel said passages at the end adjacent said annular channel extending parallel to the common axis of said members.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said body members are generally cylindrical and said ear tubes extend radially outward therefrom.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which a pair of concentric grooves is provided in the face of one of said body members, said washers being mounted in said grooves, said washers extending beyond the face of said one body member and bearing against the opposed face of the other body member, thereby forming said annular sound channel.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said conentric Washers are of material having a high coefficient of friction and serve to retain said body members in an adjusted rotational position relative to one another.

5 A device as claimed in claim 3, in which a converter of electrical signals to sound waves is mounted on one of said body members, said body member being provided with passages therethrough for conveying sound from said source to said annular sound channel.

6. A device as claimed in claim 4, in which said washers are formed of neoprene.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,498,960 Mullin Feb. 28, 1950 

